Tag: Hardware - Page 19
News Hori's Dead or Alive 5 Arcade Stick Pushes Our Buttons
Too hot to handle
This Hori built Dead or Alive 5 arcade stick is useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, it includes all of the buttons you’ll need to become a pro at Tecmo Koei’s upcoming PS3 brawler. Secondly, it bears the slogan “I’m a fighter” – which should come in extremely handy when you forget why you’re holding it in the...
Rumour Super Slim PlayStation 3 on the Way
Weight watchers
Sony is working on a new PlayStation 3 model, according to documents uncovered by Japanese website Pocket News. The details, filed by Sony to the Federal Communications Commission, reveal a 4000 series of the home console. We’re currently on the 3000 series by the way. Buried within the document are images of
News GAME Snags White PS3 Exclusivity in the UK
Suits you
Recovering retailer GAME has locked up exclusive rights to the white PS3 in the UK. The 320GB console will come bundled with two DualShock 3 controllers and a 90-day subscription to PlayStation Plus for a reasonable £239.99. The system's set to release on 29th June. There’s currently no word on whether the custom console will make its...
News Sony Not Ruling Out Super Slim PlayStation 3
Losing weight
All the way back in 2009, Sony announced the PlayStation 3 Slim at GamesCom in Germany. The rebranding effort helped to reverse the PS3’s fortunes, transforming the platform into the popular system we know today. Three years on, Sony has refused to rule out the possibility of another hardware revision. Speaking with Eurogamer.net,...
News Sony Announces Assassin's Creed III PS3 Hardware Bundle
Includes "special" DLC
Sony has always pushed Assassin's Creed as a PlayStation franchise, and this year's E3 was certainly no different. In addition to the Vita title announcement and a new demo of Assassin's Creed III, the platform holder announced that it will be releasing a new themed PS3 hardware bundle when the stealth adventure launches this...
News GameStop Pulls PSP Titles from 25% of North American Stores
Goodnight, sweet prince
In news that will surprise nobody, US retail giant GameStop has decided to remove PSP titles from around 25% of its stores. The move is designed to maximise “merchandising space in the smallest” outlets. Larger stores will continue to carry the brand, as will GameStop.com. With the Vita now readily available worldwide,...
News Sony Deploys Limited Edition Call of Duty PS3 Bundle
Oorah
Call of Duty is the biggest brand in gaming at the moment, and Sony’s latest limited edition PlayStation 3 hardware bundle clearly reflects that fact. Scheduled for release on 25th May in North America, the set bundles a 320GB PS3 with a copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for $299. That means you effectively get the game for free. It’s...
News PS3 Hardware Sales Down, Software Sales Up
Swings and roundabouts
Sony sold 13.9 million PS3 consoles in the last financial year, down from 14.3 million in the previous year. Other PlayStation platforms dropped too: PSP dropped from 8m consoles to 6.8m, and PS2 from 6.4m to 4.1m. Sony has not released any sales figures for PS Vita yet, a little worrying considering it launched in Japan late...
News Crystal White Vita Announced for Japan
Tone it down
Sony's announced the first colour variations for PS Vita, pushing a Crystal White console out to Japan on 28th June. The white machine will launch in WiFi only and 3G/WiFi versions for the standard price of ¥24,980/¥29,980 respectively. There'll be matching white ear phones sold separately for the colour coordinated gamer. Then in...
News Sony Sneakily Announces Red PS3 for the UK
Captain scarlet
If the basic black exterior of the current PS3 is putting you off purchasing Sony’s current console, perhaps you might be tempted by the curvaceous red system instead. The former Japan exclusive has started popping up on UK websites this afternoon, with Amazon revealing a 27th April release date and
Rumour Early Orbis Tech Specs Leaked
IGN strikes again
If PlayStation 4 really is codenamed Orbis, here's an idea of what Sony might be packing inside the hardware. IGN claims the machine uses AMD chips based on the A8-3859 APU (accelerated processing unit) and Radeon HD 7670 GPU. The APU harbours an on-board quad-core processor with integrated graphics chip; teaming this up with the...
News Sony Bringing New PSP Colour to Japan
Life in the old dog, yet
The PlayStation Portable is still hot in Japan (regularly outselling Sony’s beefy new hardware, the PS Vita, on a weekly basis). And so Sony has decided to capitalise on its former handheld’s continued longevity by announcing a new colour for its home region. Dubbed Sky Blue/Marine Blue, the two-tone PSP certainly looks...
News PS Plus Minis Don't Work on PlayStation Vita
OMG-Z
PlayStation Minis obtained for free through Sony’s premium subscription service, PlayStation Plus, do not work on the PS Vita. Members of the official PlayStation forum discovered the unfortunate bug and raised their concerns online. Sony's said it is "aware of the issue, and will resolve it as quickly as possible". To clarify:...
News Sony Bringing Bigger Vita Memory Cards to the UK
Guessed wrong
Sony is working hard to bring bigger PS Vita memory cards into the UK. The biggest stick available alongside yesterday’s launch was the 16GB, but SCE UK gaffer Fergal Gara has said that the company completely misjudged demand. He told Eurogamer: We probably haven’t got big enough memory cards introduced for the UK market. We’ve...
News Sony Looking to Bring the Biggest Brands to PS Vita
Big guns
PlayStation Vita’s launch offering is already packed with big names: there’s Uncharted, WipEout, FIFA and many more. But Sony’s not resting on its laurels just yet, as new SCEA marketing executive, Guy Longworth, has explained that the platform holder wants the snazzy new system to play host to as many of gaming's biggest brands as...
News Sony Patents Kinect-like PlayStation Eye Technology
You are the controller
We suspected that the next version of the PlayStation Eye camera would come with Kinect-like depth tracking abilities, and it looks like we might have been right. A patent filed by Eye Toy and PlayStation Move visionary Dr. Richard Marks has hinted that Sony is toying with controller less techno
News Take One Last Tour of the PlayStation Vita
Not long now
The PlayStation Vita unofficially launches in North America this week. We say “unofficially” because, well, even though the so-called First Edition Bundle is sanctioned by platform holder Sony, the system’s launch date will officially go down in history as February 22nd. It’s all a bit confusing, but the point is, Sony's eagerly...
News Sony Patented a Wii U Style Controller Too
Great minds think alike
It turns out Nintendo isn’t the only company intent on merging handheld devices with home console experiences. A patent uncovered by Games Beat, shows Sony had a similar concept in mind way back in 2010. The patent – aw
News PlayStation Vita Titles Will Be Cheaper When Downloaded
Cheaper than chips
Sony's not been particularly efficient at communicating specific PlayStation Vita information. We're still waiting for full details on the 3G system's data plan here in Europe. With three weeks to go, the platform holder's definitely cutting things fine. But one question that's been asking more than most is whether downloadable PS...
News Amazon UK Upgrading PlayStation Vita Orders
Announces new bundle too
If you thought North America was getting all the luck with regards to PlayStation Vita bundles, then you might like to take a note of an email we just received from Amazon.co.uk this morning. According to the message, the online retailer is upgrading all PlayStation Vita pre-orders to include a free 8GB memory card and a...
News Sony Sends A PlayStation Vita To Every GAME And GameStation Store In The UK
Sometimes all it takes to sell a great product is to put it in front of people
Sony seems to understand that: announcing that it will be supplying all 600 GAME and GameStation retail stores across the UK with spangly new PlayStation Vita units to display. The top 150 stores will also net a dedicated Interactive Display Unit. Meanwhile, store...
News Amazon Bundles Free Data, 8GB Memory Card And Game With Every 3G PS Vita Purchase [Updated]
We told you it was going to happen didn't we? The PS Vita may look expensive when you glare angrily at its RRP, but it was only a matter of time before retailers started to concoct their own bundles
First in line: Amazon. The online retailer's tempting PlayStation Vita plans see any existing or future orders of the $300 3G handheld ship with a...
News Japanese Sales Charts: PlayStation Vita Dips To 15k As Hardware Sales Plunge
The PlayStation Vita hit its lowest point yet in this week's Japanese sales update -- though hardware was down all around
The newly released Sony portable sold just 15k units, while the Nintendo 3DS managed a whopping 80k. It was a disappointing week for all non-3DS hardware though, with the PSP and PS3 both managing just 21k and 17k respectively...
News The Original PlayStation Vita Design Was Thinner, Says Designer
The PlayStation Vita is a seriously ergonomic device: it might just be the most comfortable handheld we've ever had the pleasure of using
But, as with all electronics, the system's final design wasn't its only design. In an interview with CVG, Takashi Sogabe — head of Sonys Corporate Design Centre and the man behind the original Walkman — has...
News Imagine A World Where Remote Play Was Awesome
Remote Play's always felt like a brilliant, brilliant idea completely squandered by a horrible lack of support
We remember testing out the PS3-to-PSP streaming application back in the heady days of '08, and being amazed that we could play PixelJunk Eden in the back garden (just about). But once the initial novelty wore off, we started to wonder why...
News Cost Of PlayStation Vita's Raw Materials Estimated At $159
The smart folks at UBM TechInsights have ripped apart a 3G PlayStation Vita, estimating the cost of the system's raw materials at around $159 (~£103)
The experts reckon that the system's screen and touch interfaces are its most expensive components, costing around $50 to purchase. Meanwhile, essential parts such as the battery, camera and GPS come...
Review PlayStation Vita Hardware
The good, the bad and the proprietary
When Sony's PSP successor was announced last year, it was met with a lot of excitement and anticipation. This fervour was readily apparent at last year's E3 trade show in Los Angeles with extremely lengthy lines to play the system at Sony's booth. While we were fortunate enough to get some hands-on time with the...
News Japanese Sales Charts: New Year Lull Brings PlayStation Vita Sales Below 20,000
Before we start rushing for the doomed boat, it's worth pointing out that, while PlayStation Vita's Japanese sales are disappointing once again this week, they are not entirely out of whack with the other trends in the market
Still, the recently released system suffered an almighty dip, selling approximately 50% of last week's tally, a number which...
News PlayStation Vita Grabs Updated Firmware, Changes Very Little
Despite what Shuhei Yoshida said about the PlayStation Vita boasting a "less obtrusive" firmware system -- the handheld's already received its third update since launching less than a month ago in Japan
The latest version — v1.52 if you're keeping track — supposedly fixes a bug restricting 3G units from detecting inserted SIM cards. Fantastic...
News File Sizes For PlayStation Vita Launch Titles Revealed
If you're planning on purchasing all of your PlayStation Vita content exclusively from the PlayStation Store, then you better start saving your pennies
A post on TheSixthAxis has revealed the file sizes for a number of Sony's first-party launch titles, and the results stretch as far as 3.3GB. Naturally, that high number is only applicable to...
News Sony Not Concerned By Japanese PlayStation Vita Sales
It's a well publicised fact that the PlayStation Vita's sales haven't been particularly spectacular in Japan
But SCEA's director of hardware marketing, John Koller, insists that the company is not concerned by the numbers. If you look at the word-of-mouth factor, its really strong because people are bringing it home and really enjoying it, he...
News Sony Encouraged By Nintendo 3DS' Resurgence
While obviously fierce competitors, Nintendo and Sony are also in the same boat
Both are the target of the mainstream media, who seem keen to push an agenda against the dedicated portable gaming platform. As such, it's unsurprising to hear SCEE executive, Jim Ryan, comment on the Nintendo 3DS' sales resurgence in a positive manner. One of the...
Rumour Sony Cuts PlayStation Vita Shipment By 50% In France
In news that will almost certainly bring out the mainstream media's pitchforks, Sony has supposedly cut the PlayStation Vita's shipment by 50% in France
The cull is probably designed to better service other regions, but we daresay it will bring out the the "doomed" brigade in the coming days. For what it's worth, the unconfirmed report...
News Japanese Sales Charts: PlayStation Vita Holds Steady As 3DS Dominates
At this point in time, there's no chance of any system catching up to the Nintendo 3DS in Japan, so there's no point in even discussing it
Nintendo might have seemed "doomed" after a disappointing 3DS launch last year, but it's now conjured up a triple threat of unstoppable software releases. There's nothing anyone can do. As a result, a...
News CES 2012: Sony Sells A Whopping 6.5 Million PlayStation Consoles Over Christmas
More than 6
5 million PlayStation branded consoles were sold during the Christmas period (November 18th to December 31st, 2011), Sony has announced. Of those sales, more than 500k units were contributed by the PlayStation Vita, following its Japanese launch on December 17th. But it was the PlayStation 3 that was the big seller — moving a whopping...
News CES 2012: PlayStation Vita Sells 500,000 Units, Getting Netflix At Launch
Speaking during Sony's CES 2012 press conference last night, not-quite-president Kaz Hirai revealed that the PlayStation Vita has sold a respectable 500,000 units since its launch in Japan just 20 days ago
The numbers look great when stacked up like that, but it's hard to forget that the system sold just over half of that tally within its opening...
The 3G version of the PlayStation Vita will not require a contract in North America
The service will come in two flavours, with $15 bagging you 250MB of data and $25 netting you 2GB. Unsurprisingly, the prices are near identical to those offered for the iPad in the US. Players will be able to purchase data on a month-to-month basis, making the 3G...
News Sony's Planning Its Biggest Marketing Campaign Ever For PlayStation Vita's UK Launch
It's still a little bit too early to start wondering where the PlayStation Vita billboards and TV commercials are; it's only January after all
The good news is that the marketing campaign is coming, and, in the UK at least, Sony's aiming big. Speaking with MCV, SCE UK's marketing manager, Mark Bowles, revealed that the platform holder is planning...
Rumour PlayStation 4 Already 'More Powerful' Than Next XBOX
Two PlayStation 4 rumours in a single day? The next generation must be nearing
PSM3 magazine's the latest publication to jump on the bandwagon. The magazine speculates that early signs already point to Sony's next console being "quite a bit more powerful" than the next XBOX, though it's unclear of the publication's sources for the claim...
News Japanese Games Market Declines In 2011 Despite New Hardware
The Japanese games market declined in 2011, according to reports published by Enterbrain via Famitsu
That was despite a 2.4 percent increase in hardware sales — up to ¥179,740 million ($2.3 billion) — spurred by the releases of the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita. Indeed, while the hardware bump was significant, it wasn't enough to stave off...
News Japanese Sales Charts: PS Vita Sells 42K, 3DS Unstoppable
Considering all the doom and gloom around the Internet regarding the PlayStation Vita's unspectacular second week sales, the system actually held relatively well in its third week
Given some armchair analysts were expecting the sytem to drop as low as 10k units, its actual sell through of 42k units looks mightily impressive in comparison. Of course,...
News Just To Clarify: No, The 3G Edition Of The PlayStation Vita Is Not Cancelled In North America
Sigh
The media's smear campaign against the PlayStation Vita hit a new high last night, when a batch of US media outlets jumped on an erroneous Amazon listing that claimed the 3G SKU of Sony's new portable system had been cancelled before release in North America. Of course, those with an ounce of common sense would have realised this was a mistake...
News Wave The White Flag: Japanese Retailer Cuts The Price Of 3G PlayStation Vita
When we saw headlines popping up around the web this afternoon regarding the price of the 3G PlayStation Vita, we wondered for a split-second if Sony had done the unthinkable -- prematurely slashed the price of the PlayStation Vita
After all, there's a lot of headlines filling our Twitter feed right now that run with the words, "Japanese...
News Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before: Mainstream Media Says PlayStation Vita Is In Trouble
Anyone else got a sense of deja-vu? Those of you that follow the wider video games media in detail will recall hearing the death knells for Nintendo's 3DS earlier in the year
The agenda-pushing mainstream media informed us that dedicated handheld games devices are in decline, and that the market Nintendo once dominated was lost. Of course, no amount...
News Japan Sales Charts: PlayStation Vita's Second Week Sales Disappoint
The PlayStation Vita got off to a reasonable, if unspectacular, debut in Japan -- but its second week sales paint a troubling picture for the platform in the near future
The well equipped handheld was outsold by the 3DS, PSP, Wii and PS3 during its first full week on the market, recording sales of just over 70,000 units. For comparison, Nintendo's...
News Sony Bumps PlayStation Vita's Firmware Up A Notch
Staying true to PlayStation's irritating penchant for frequent firmware updates, Sony's bumped up the PlayStation Vita's official firmware for the second time since its Japanese release earlier in the month
A tiny update released in Japan overnight ups the system's on-board software to version 1.51, which aims to alleviate any crashing and freezing...
News Did You Know? PlayStation Vita Was Designed By The Same Person As The Original Walkman
Here's a fascinating little factoid for you that comes courtesy of a feature published on the PlayStation Blog: the PlayStation Vita was designed by the same person as the original Walkman
Turns out that the man behind PlayStation Vita's sleek design was none other than Takashi Sogabe, a man that's spent 27 years working at Sony on products such as...
News PlayStation Vita Sold 300,000 Games In Just Two Days
Sales tracking firm Media Create has revealed that the PlayStation Vita pushed 300,000 units of software during its first couple of days on sale in Japan
As previously reported, Sony's sassy new piece of hardware shifted just under 325k units during the same period, giving the system a software attach rate of 0.92 titles per PS Vita. Despite the PS...
News Sony Announces Gargantuan PlayStation Vita Launch Lineup, Prices Memory Cards And Accessories
Sony's lifted the lid on the PlayStation Vita's gigantic launch line-up for North America
Director of hardware marketing, John Koller, described the unprecedented 25 game strong launch line-up as the "biggest and best" any platform has ever released alongside. Even if Koller is paid to say these things, it's hard to disagree. Day one...
Rumour PlayStation Vita Glitch Leads To... Dolphins?
So much for Sony denying any awareness of widespread PlayStation Vita glitches
A new video spotted by Andriasang shows a brand new PlayStation Vita running a bizarre underwater debug mode. The screen shows four swimming dolphins, a floating oyster and a pearl, all from different perspectives. The debug mode would be cool if it could be exited, but...